> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.slowburn.nz/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Hunters: German U-Boats at War, 1939-43 - Patrol 14 (June 1942) - URL: https://www.slowburn.nz/the-hunters-german-u-boats-at-war-1939-43-patrol-14-june-1942/ - Published: 2026-10-08T10:48:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-15T11:34:46.000Z - Author: Walter - Tags: The Hunters, Gregory Smith, GMT Games 1/6/1942 We tried to lobby for another assignment to the North American coast. The request was refused and we were instead sent to the Atlantic. We sailed from St. Nazaire. The Bay of Biscay outbound area and the first transit were quiet, as were the first two Atlantic sectors. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/77/49/77497e94-57f0-4097-b157-16e7e3df5c21/content/images/2026/09/1-1.png) Daytime encounter with the Barfonn In the third sector, in daylight, we found a tanker, the *Barfonn*, 9,800 tons. I closed to short range on the surface and opened with the deck gun resulting in one hit and one miss causing only light damage. We were near the limit of our endurance and I did not want to linger and be driven off. I fired the aft G7A. It missed. Following the same logic I loosed three forward G7As. All three ran on target, but one was a dud. One of the detonations blew her apart spectacularly. She went down. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/77/49/77497e94-57f0-4097-b157-16e7e3df5c21/content/images/2026/09/2-1.png) Three torpedoes in the water In the final patrol sector, again in daylight, we found a convoy consisting of *Scania* (2,000 tons), *Eulota* (6,200 tons), *Umtata* (8,100 tons) and the tanker *Saranac* (12,000 tons). The *Saranac* was a juicy target. I was badly torn at the thought of losing her by waiting for night, but this far into the campaign is no time for heroics. We have already distinguished ourselves. I ordered us to stalk until nightfall. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/77/49/77497e94-57f0-4097-b157-16e7e3df5c21/content/images/2026/09/3-1.png) Stalking the convoy containing the Saranac which ended up slipping away We lost the convoy. The disappointment aboard was hard to bear. We had to remind ourselves that we have come this far by refusing to be over eager. It was still very unfortunate. We attempted a resupply. It failed. It was time to go home. The inbound transit and the Bay of Biscay were empty. We reached port without further incident. Everyone is disappointed at having passed up the convoy. It could easily have gone the other way. Coming home with the *Barfonn* at least lets us mark the patrol a success. During our time in harbour the LI underwent further training and is now rated expert in his field. The long-dreaded day finally arrived. ObLtzS Benno Pfefferberg has been transferred off the boat to begin training and work-up for his own command after 1,065 days at war and fourteen patrols with us. The crew is upset, but we have been lucky to keep him this long. We wish him well. LtzS Leonard Fischer will step into his place. I am confident he has the necessary skill, and we have arranged his promotion to ObLtzS. That leaves us needing a new second watch officer. We have found one in a young officer of the class of 1937, LtzS Gustav Lindner. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/77/49/77497e94-57f0-4097-b157-16e7e3df5c21/content/images/2026/09/4.png) State of the crew following a number of reassignments Command advises a renewed operational shift back into the Atlantic. The Americans, it is judged, have now grasped effective anti-submarine tactics and as a result the Eastern Seaboard is no longer as profitable as it was during *Paukenschlag*. Emphasis is to return to wolfpack work, with closer coordination between the boats and headquarters. The straight forward nature of this last patrol means our turnaround time in port will be quick, and we'll be sailing again in August. --- ### *Context* *June 1942 was the high-water mark of the Allied shipping losses to U-boats for the war so far, well over 100 ships and up to 700,000 tons in some tallies. Much of that still came from the American coast, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, where independent shipping remained plentiful.* *The picture changed in July. Coastal convoys were extended along the US East Coast, air patrols increased and sinkings in American waters dropped sharply even with an increase in U-boats on station in that area. U-boat losses also increased. Dönitz began pulling boats off the Eastern Seaboard and sending them back to mid-Atlantic wolfpack work as the Second Happy Time was ending.* *In the North Atlantic, wolfpack battles resumed. Convoys such as ONS 100, ON 113, ON 115 and OS 33 were attacked with mixed results. A few ships were lost but escorts and aircraft were beginning to take a more steady toll. In the Arctic, convoy PQ-17 was ordered to break up in early July and suffered one of the worst disasters of the war, losing more than 20 ships.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/77/49/77497e94-57f0-4097-b157-16e7e3df5c21/content/images/2026/09/pq17.jpg) Escorts and merchants at Hvalfjörður May 1942, before the sailing of Convoy PQ 17 *In the Pacific, the Battle of Midway was fought in early June. In North Africa, Tobruk fell on 21 June, the First Battle of El Alamein opened in July. On the Eastern Front, Germany launched its massive summer offensive for 1942, Case Blue, toward the Caucasus and the Volga.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/77/49/77497e94-57f0-4097-b157-16e7e3df5c21/content/images/2026/09/caseblue.jpg) German troops take cover behind a knocked out T-70 light tank and beside a Sd.Kfz. 250 halftrack, summer 1942 --- ### *Commentary* *I was dissappointed to give up Saranac in this patrol, at 12,000 tons it was certainly a worthwhile target.* *At this point in the campaign, we're already sitting at a 'Marginal Victory' in game terms, and we're going to be in service for close to another year which will allow us plenty of time to hopefully attain a 'Substantial Victory' or better, before finally getting a promotion off the boats. Given how well we have proven ourselves so far, and an almost guaranteed chance of survival on the horizon, I have a very low appetite for risk at this stage.* *I hope to make up for this missed opportunity in the coming patrols, hopefully by way of night-time encounters.*